Eh, I appreciated the "all killer, no filler" approach to the story arc. I don't always need half a dozen episodes of Mando doing odd jobs for everyone he meets before the story can progress. I have more to say, but there's a problem I need taken care of first.
The fact that it was "all killer, no filler" is in part why I don't agree with the criticism of "this felt like two episodes of the show stitched together." Not to me, because in any given two or three episodes of the show, things are structured as part of the larger season. Which means that there's the side quests and other filler that you've referenced. Whereas the structure of this was more like the arc of a typical movie than of a season. I'd expect that there was a pitch for S4 of the show that covered overall the same territory as the movie, and that someone at Disney said "Hey, let's just do a theatrical movie." They cut a few arcs/plot developments to get it to theater length. For instance: I'd guess the opening sequence would have probably been its own episode. The time on the planet where they found Rotta would probably be at least two episodes. The little helper aliens would have had a bunch more scenes, as would Sigourney Weaver. Mando recovering from the poison and Grogu helping him, probably its own episode.
The little helper aliens would have followed a visit to Amy Sedaris (that's an entire episode), and we'd have had Mando visit Boba Fett for information on the twins (also an entire episode) and deal with some local trouble on Nevarro, taking up it's own episode. Maybe Martin Scorsese is an entire episode too, and he's got a cute cashier working in his food truck for Mando to have some sexual tension with. Grogu's episode would have been filled with flashbacks. And of course we get an entire episode of Katy O'Brian acting shady while giving us some very confusing feelings.
"Mandalorian & Grogu" is underperforming "Solo" by every metric--even without adjusting for inflation. Less domestic dollars, smaller percent from international box office. The only thing it has going for it is that it cost about half as much as "Solo."
I'd say it was like "Star Trek: Beyond". I thought "...Beyond" was the strongest of the Abramsverse movies, but it had the misfortune of following a pretty disappointing movie so people didn't go see it.
I was surprised at how well the actor was able to capture Ford’s interpretation of the character. That is to say, the character Harrison Ford would be if he were in that situation. Harrison’s best work is the roles where he’s essentially playing himself. Anyway, I really believed that actor was a younger Han Solo.
It wasn't bad, but Han Solo's backstory never felt like something that deserves it's own Star Wars feature film. If they made it today it'd almost certainly be a Disney+ series.
The only reason it was "needed" was of they wanted a series to tell fun smuggler stories disconnected from all the jedi stuff.
For all the headaches "The Acolyte" gave them, they should have just had some balls, and pulled the trigger on the Lando show instead.
They should have remembered that almost all new Star Wars is considered trash upon arrival by the loudest idiots only to be critically reappraised years later, and finished the Acolyte. Then also given us a Lando show, with both young Lando getting into sexy scrapes and old Lando hanging out with his daughter.
I've no desire to see this. The market value of the Star Wars franchise is so low now that George Lucas could buy it back at a tidy profit. What an inept crowd these people are.
It can't, although what I've heard has been very negative. I was commenting on the commercial status of Star Wars and its reduced position in pop culture.
Ah. I don't care. Mando is better than TPM, and that made a mint, and everyone camped out like it was Woodstock. "Rogue One" is the one everyone creams over now, and that didn't have the TPM brouhaha. There's me, and there's the fickle religious mob, and we've parted ways some time ago.
This was OK. Could have cut 20-30 minutes, it dragged in a few places. And it suffered a bit from the rutt the show got into, where it just felt like a bunch of video game objectives. "OK go here and do this, OK now you know to go to this next place and collect this, etc." Also, I saw this in a theater which has a few rows of seats setup as DBOX seats. They have haptic movement and vibrations that are synced with the movie. Felt really cool during the AT-AT walker scene and the X-wing/Y-wing attack at the end. But the rest was kinda bleh. It works OK for sci-fi/action movies, but I doubt it would work for something like Devil Wears Prada 2.
You know who else thinks that? https://theonion.com/pope-releases-encyclical-on-perils-of-disneys-star-wars-strategy/
"The encyclical concluded with a 15-page treatment for a Kit Fisto miniseries, which the pope claimed Disney was “too cowardly” to let him executive produce."
I saw it. I really liked it. I think the people whining about it not seeming epic enough for a movie are just looking for things to complain about. No, Mando doesn't single-handedly save the galaxy from imminent destruction. But I'm not sure I'd want to see a movie like that anyway. I disliked the Grogu baby gurgling, and I thought some of the dialogue was a lithe trite, but other than that I enjoyed it. But from now on, maybe we can make Grogu verbal at least? Even accounting for a 900-year lifespan, Grogu would be at the preschooler age by now, not a toddler. Let him talk.
https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-ana...dalorian-grogu-disappoints-opening-box-office These mother fuckers.... took a franchise that has generated untold billions across the board for many people and industries... and reduced it to this. It's like knowing the hottest girl in high school... the one with the good grades, big dreams and a fat scholarship... and forty years later you stumble on her running the check out at a Dollar Tree.
